Beyond The Gates
by Tsukiko-mei
Summary: A Konoha Boarding School fic. Beyond the gates, there is a school. It's hidden by the iron fences and ivy-covered walls. But it's always there. Always hiding its secrets. Rated T for language, OC-centric. Adopted from Waffles301. On hiatus until further notice.
1. Prologue

**A/N: **Note will be at the end of the prologue/chapter.

* * *

><p>A private school, hidden from the outside world by iron gates and ivy-covered walls. But it's always there.<p>

Always hiding its secrets.

/

_Konoha Boarding School boards and educates over 3,000 students per year, grades 9-12, with numerous alumni working in careers beneficial to the nation and to themselves._

_Located at the edge of the beautiful city of Konoha, students enrolled are immersed in a program that places high emphasis on core subjects, such as math, the sciences, history, and language, as well as the different arts, such as drama, fine art, and computer science. With a teacher/student ratio of 1:19, student's educational needs are taken care of, with progress reports sent home every other month._

_Students, at the end of each day, are free to return to their dormitories, engage in some of many extracurricular activities (such as chess club or the debate team) or explore the large campus until curfew (9:00 for genin, 10:00 for chuunin, 10:30 for jounin and 11:00 for ANBU). Some popular spots include the cherry blossom trees in the southern courtyard or the school's library._

_Discipline is carried out swiftly. There are no excuses for disruptive behavior. Punishments range from a one-hour detention to being expelled and sent home__**. Edit as of 12/2/10: Recently, teachers have asked for any info regarding the gym clothes being stolen and put on the front lawn while students are changing please be turned into the office.**_

_We offer a variety of extracurricular activities, educational and not. For a complete list, please contact Kamizuki Izumo and Hagane Kotetsu in the main office. __**Edit as of 12/2/97: Shizune has requested that those interested in extracurricular activities please report to her instead, as the headmistress needs Izumo and Kotetsu to help her around the office. Edit as of 3/26/98: Info about extracurricular activities will once again be obtained from Izumo and Kotetsu after the headmistress got tired of them complaining about being 'gophers'.**_

_As for sports, the school will allow exceptions, such as skipping class for those playing on sports teams in order to help them get to practice. Our current teams involve football, baseball, soccer, basketball, volleyball and golf. Go Foxes! Tryouts are announced at the beginning of the year, and the mascot is picked at the first pep rally. __**Edit as of 6/5/02: Due to the money the broken windows have cost us, we're sorry to announce that golf will no longer be played at Konoha Boarding School. We don't care if it was an accident, Nawaki, take a hint from your sister and get a better aim.**_

_Trips into Konoha are only obtained with permission from teachers and students are required to be back by 9:00 P.M. for curfew. Many students enjoy touring the many shops there or going to the movie theatre featured in the town, with special viewings for students of the school. Freshmen are not allowed to leave campus at all, unless for a field trip._

_Dorms are co-ed, however, due to recent incidents that have occurred, rooms are no longer co-ed. On the main floor of the dorm is the common room, where students are encouraged to spend their free time. __**Edit as of 8/26/03: We ask that students please stop throwing their shoes at the ceiling to leave footprints, as it is very difficult to clean off.**_

_The enrollment fee can be obtained by calling the front office at (555)-555-5555. However, due to generous donations from the Uchiha family and the Hyuuga family, we are able to provide scholarships for gifted students in need of financial help. Please contact the front office for more info._

_Any other information can be obtained at the front office._

"_**My four years at Konoha Boarding School were the best of my life! I made quality friends and am now able to have more opportunities in life because of the education I received there! I'm proud to be a part of the school's alumni! Okay, Tsunade, I said it, hand over the twenty bucks."**_

_**Jiraiya, author of the popular series Icha Icha Paradise**_

Here Naruto sighed and refolded the brochure back up. Of course Jiraiya was paid to say that. Knowing the man as long as he did, he wasn't surprised.

Jiraiya let out a sheepish grin. "That's an old brochure, printed up by Kotetsu. Needless to say, he missed the many mistakes. But the staff is still there, and everything else is still valid. Plus, me being a highly respected alumnus will get you in automatically."

Naruto fingered the tan-colored brochure lightly, thinking it over in his head. _A boarding school, huh?_ "What kind of 'quality friends' did you make if you knew Orochimaru?"

Jiraiya's eye twitched in a way that Naruto knew meant he had hit a nerve. "I can always send you to a military school instead."

_Why did my father make a perverted novelist my guardian? _Naruto irritably thought not for the first time in his fourteen years. But he knew that despite the man's quirks, Jiraiya was simply looking out for him. Which made the fact that he was so quick to suggest a boarding school almost sting.

The blond looked at the picture of the campus on the front of the pamphlet. "Well...I guess I could try it."

Jiraiya's annoyed look quickly changed into a smile. "That's the spirit! Hey, maybe you'll turn out famous like me!"

This caused Naruto to look up at his guardian, his face surprised. "Famous?"

"Oh yeah!" Jiraiya gestured to the bookshelf where he kept his dirty books. "That school opens all kinds of door for you! When you're looking for a job, mention you went to Konoha Boarding School, and bam!" Here he pounded on his hardwood desk where Naruto was sitting at, making the boy jump. "You're in. Many legendary figures attended that school. I did, Tsunade did, why, even your own father, the Yondaime Hokage-"

"Dad?" Naruto stood up, and the chair he had been sitting in scratched against the polished wood floors, making Jiraiya wince. "My father went there?"

Jiraiya raised his hands in front of him, as if to say, 'Slow down'. But he was smiling at the boy's reaction as he answered. "Yes, your father. If you went there, I'd say you'd find many traces of both your father and your mother there. Maybe even follow in their footste-"

By then, his adopted grandson had already picked up the phone and was dialing the number on the brochure. Jiraiya chuckled. "Not so fast." He gently pried the phone from Naruto's hands.

"Aw, Pervy Sage!"

"I'll make sure you get in. Why don't you go work on your Rasengan?" Jiraiya said, ignoring the nickname.

Naruto's disappointed face quickly turned into a grin as he thought of the play he had been working on, the one he had been perfecting from his father. "Okay! But after that, can we please go get some ramen? I'm starving!"

Jiraiya nodded, and the blond sped out the door, leaving a dust trail in his path.

The man chuckled, remembering how excited Minato had been to attend that school. As he picked up the phone and dialed his old friend, however, he couldn't help but wince as he remembered some of the secrets that he had found, that hid in the walls of the school, ones he hoped Naruto and his friends would never find. But it's a chance he must take.

As he glanced out from the window, where he saw Naruto practicing by himself, always working so hard, he let a smile cross his face as the receiver in his ear put him on hold.

_So it begins._

* * *

><p><strong>AN(2): **Heyyo! Some of you might have seen this story before, and no, you're not just imagining it. You have.

_Waffles301_ is the original author of this story, but due to certain circumstances, she will no longer be continuing it.  
>And as you can see, I've decided to adopt the story.~ I can only hope that I can write it as well as Waffles did. ; u;<p>

The story is still uploaded at her profile, so if you'd like, visit her page and read the author's note posted as chapter four.  
>Right now, I'm only uploading the content she's already written, until I complete the third chapter.<p>

If you are one of the people who has a character in the story, I would love to hear from you ( PM ) in regards to information about your OC.

Thanks for reading, and see you next chapter!  
>Before I forget;; <strong>I do not own Naruto nor any of its characters.<strong> I think I'd die if I did.


	2. Aha ha ha ha aw shit

**A/N: **Here's the next "chapter"!  
>Thanks for reviewing and letting me know you're there, <strong>Red Chopsticks <strong>and **shikyoDEATH**!  
>As soon as I get the time to proof-read the next chapter, expect an update! ( it'll be soon, I promise. c: )<p>

* * *

><p><em>So it begins…<em>

_/_

One year later…

The silver car sped away, through the iron gate, leaving behind dust and a fifteen year old boy. He smiled as he slung his bright orange bag over his shoulder and raised his hand in a half wave.

_Take care of yourself, Pervy Sage._

He turned back around, to the campus that he had left a few months ago, the place he really considered home. He started walking at a brisk pace towards the office.

As he entered the brick building, the two men sitting at the desk near the door looked up and smiled at the spikey-haired boy.

"Morning, Naruto."

Naruto grinned back. "Morning, Izumo, Kotetsu."

The famous Jiraiya's adoptive grandson, Naruto was something like a legacy at the school. He already knew half of the staff before even entering. Many of them were fond of the hyperactive teenager.

"You're in the Chunin dorm this year," Izumo informed him while Kotetsu dug through a pile of folders, looking for Naruto's timetable. "You know where that is, don't you?"

Naruto scratched the back of his head nervously, grinning. "Y-Yeah." He and his friends had gotten caught numerous times last year trying to sneak into that very dorm when the resident Chunins had told them their dorm had a flat screen TV and stereo system.

Kotetsu suddenly held up a file, triumphant. "Found it!"

"Took you long enough."

"Shut up."

He handed Naruto his timetable, along with his room key. "You'll be in room 34. Your roommate assignment should be on the door."

"Okay." Naruto said, stashing his timetable in his bag to look at later and reaching for the room key.

Just before he was out the door, he was stopped by a voice from the adjoining room. "Naruto, wait a second."

Naruto turned around to see a blonde woman, probably in her fifties, standing in the doorway, arms crossed. "Uh…yeah, Granny?"

"It's Headmistress Tsunade!" The woman snapped, and Naruto mentally sweatdropped.

"…Okay. So what is it?"

"Just wanted to warn you that if there's any more of those practical jokes, we're cracking done on pranksters this year. So I'd be careful."

Naruto mentally rolled his eyes. They had told them that last year, and the resident Jonin said that they said that every year. But they never followed through, considering the fact Tsunade would get constantly drunk, only sobering when someone from the state department of education came or when something was on fire. So she didn't sober often.

"Okay." Naruto grinned, and continued walking towards the door.

"Please be careful."

When he looked back, he saw that Tsunade's brown eyes were serious, and his face lost it's silly demeanor. He knew she worried about him like a grandmother. "Will do. I'll tell the Pervy Sage you said hi."

"That will be fine." She replied as the door leading to the courtyard closed with a _click_. "Take care, Naruto."

/

"Lies!" Naruto heard a yell as he entered the Chunin dorm. "They all lied!"

He dropped his bag on the floor and walked into the common room, where a 15-year old girl was standing in the middle of the room, casting an angry glare around at the furniture, which, in his opinion, didn't look that bad.

Naruto laughed. "Hey Kiyo."

When she heard her name, the girl turned around. "Oh, hi Naruto." Hirazuki Kiyomi turned back to her ranting. "This is just like the Genin dorm last year! There's no flat screen TV! All my hopes and dreams- crushed." She let out a fake exasperated sigh.

_Dramatic today, aren't we? _Naruto watched her, amused, until he realized the severity of the situation.

"NO FLAT SCREEN?" _They did lie!_

Kiyo stopped raging to smile, and put one hand in the pocket of her shorts. "Yeah, I found that out twenty minutes ago."

She pointed to one set of stairs and then the other. "The girls' rooms, the boys' rooms. Roommates are posted on the doors."

"Yeah?" The dorm had a large common room, with a few chairs and two couches. A small adjourning room held numerous bookcases. They were the only people in the dorm so far. It looked all right, and Naruto knew that fireplace in the common room would be useful for cold wintery days.

Naruto looked at the brown-eyed girl suspiciously, processing her words in his head. "What were you doing here twenty minutes ago?"

Kiyo tightened the ribbon that held her hair in a ponytail, a habit from whenever she was stressed. "To tell you the truth, I've been here for an hour. Summer break was quiet. It kind of flew by," she added.

Naruto looked up at the stairs leading to the boys' corridor. "Who's your roommate?"

"Hinata, room 12." She replied, crossing her arms across her dark purple tank top, jerking her head in the door's direction. "I guess they think she can calm me down. Makes sense."

"Who's mine?"

The girl smirked in a way that gave him a bad feeling. "Go check for yourself," she replied, plopping down on one of the couches, stretching her legs over the arms of it. "If you dare."

Naruto rolled his eyes and slowly walked up the stairs to the boys' rooms, checking the rooms, looking for number 34. _31, 32, 33… _His footsteps echoed against the hardwood floors, and he paused when he saw the silver emblazoned number on the wall next to the door.

"Found it yet?" Kiyo's voice rang from downstairs, but Naruto was too busy staring at the paper taped to the door painted in peeling blue paint.

The sound of her paint-splattered converse pounding against the steps was heard, and she stopped at the top when she saw Naruto's shocked face, smirking at the boy's reaction. "I know, right?"

_Room 34_

_Uzumaki Naruto_

_Mizaki Yusei_

_Uchiha Sasuke_

"Son of a bi-!"

/

Neeka nervously tapped her fingers on her gray skinny jeans to a song on her iPod as she waited for the headmistress to return. She had been dropped off five minutes ago, and that black-haired woman name Shizune had escorted her to the room where she was to meet the headmistress. She had seen the woman briefly, before she had to go to the front desk because of some emergency when a kid tried to come through with his dog.

Just then, the woman they called Tsunade re-entered the small office. "You're Neeka, correct?"

Neeka nodded, not sure what to say at first. The music in her ears was blasting, but she didn't want to take the earphones out. Not yet.

Tsunade sat down at the hardwood desk facing her, and pulled out a file. "You're from Hinaki, here on a scholarship. Very impressive."

Neeka nodded again, pushing her dark red hair out of her freckled face. "Yeah. My mom, Anikaa, she was really happy when I got the scholarship."

Tsunade smiled at her, making Neeka relax a little bit. "She has a good reason to be. Anyways, this year you will be staying in the Chunin dorm, room 21. Academically, you'll fit in just fine, seeing your current grades. Socially, well, your classmates have had a year to get to know each other, so you'll be a little behind, but don't worry. You'll do just fine."

Neeka nodded, wondering if she could do anything but nod.

"Here's your room key and timetable. If there's anything you need, ask someone. Just not me."

_Gee, that's really reassuring, _Neeka couldn't help but think irritably as she exited the office, staring at her timetable. _Where the hell is the Chunin dorm again?_

When she looked up, she could fully see how large the campus was–making her feel even smaller inside. But she didn't show it. She never let anyone see beyond her tough exterior.

The office led to a small courtyard, connected to the rest of the school by numerous hallways and courtyards, not to mention the small park-like areas in between. The map they had given her was virtually useless, as it had many creases from being folded, and had coffee stains all over it. She let out an irritated sigh before closing her eyes and pointing a finger.

When she opened her eyes, it was pointing to the left corridor. She shrugged and started down that way, putting the 'map' in her pocket. _Gotta start somewhere._

God, being the new kid sucked.

The singer in her ears screamed the lyrics so loud she couldn't hear, but to her, it sounded like _'No shit, Sherlock.'_

_/_

Haruno Sakura stood in a line outside the office next to her friend Hyuuga Hinata, waiting to receive their timetables.

"How much do you want to bet that Kiyo and Tenten are already, there, destroying the dorm?" Sakura asked the pale-eyed girl as she twirled her long pink locks just to be doing _something._ God, she was bored.

"I don't know about Kiyo, but Tenten's right there." Hinata pointed to a girl with brown hair in tight buns on both sides of her head walking up the front lawn towards them.

Sakura raised her hand over her head in a wave. "Hey, Tenten, over here!"

Tenten smiled and ran towards them as the people behind them began to complain about cutting. Her backpack made a clanging noise as she ran, and Sakura winced, knowing that she had probably brought her darts with her.

"We thought you'd have been in the dorm by now," Sakura explained as Tenten fiddled with the straps of her backpack, trying to make as little noise as possible.. "Have you seen Ino or Kiyo?"

Tenten shook her head. "No, but my mom's car had a problem with security at the gate, so that's why I'm kind of late."

"That almost rhymes," Hinata pointed out to her, which she thought was more tactful than asking why she was detained at security..

"Oh."

The three girls made small talk as the line moved slowly, crawling towards the front office where Izumo and Kotetsu were working as fast as they could. Finally, they reached the front.

"Haruno Sakura, Hyuuga Hinata and Tenten." Hinata said, and Izumo gave them their keys as Kotetsu pulled out their timetables. Once out of the office and into the courtyard leading them to the dorms, they compared their schedules.

"We've got lunch, math, science and English together," Sakura, who was the most analytic of her friends, concluded. Tenten peered over at the pink-haired girl's schedule.

"What the hell compelled you to choose drama as your elective?" she asked incredulously. Sakura frowned.

'Well, what made you choose study hall as yours? You can't sit still for a moment."

Hinata looked at hers, trying to think of a way to stop her friends from breaking into an argument. "I chose art."

"Well, yeah, Hina, you're a really good artist."

"Really?" This caused the violet-haired girl to blush as they walked up to the Chunin dorm and opened the bronze door.

"Hey!" They were knocked over by a brown and purple blur, and were promptly glomped by Kiyo. "Long time no see, eh, guys?"

Sakura weakly hugged Kiyo back while Hinata pushed the teenage-girl-acting-like-a-five-year old off of her. "Yes, because I only visited once every two weeks."

Kiyo grinned. "Yeah, but you haven't seen Naruto-chan in a loooong time."

Hinata turned an even deeper shade of red. "I-I-I…"

"Kiyo, have you seen Sasuke-kun?" Sakura asked, saving Hinata by changing the subject. Kiyo's face quickly darkened and she scowled. The other girls backed away.

"I'm getting out of here before she blows up," Tenten muttered and quickly retreated towards the upstairs rooms to check out the room assignments.

"No, I haven't seen him," Kiyo replied, gritting her teeth at the mention of the hated person. "He's either late or dead, and I'm sincerely hoping for the latter."

"Kiyo, that's mean!" Sakura sighed, knowing she probably shouldn't have brought it up. And not have used the 'kun' suffix.

"What're you gonna do about it?"

Sakura looked over at Hinata, whose face was still a little red. "Where is Naruto now?"

"Oh, he and I are planning a little prank." Kiyo's tone had changed from dark to happy in approximately three seconds, and Sakura mentally sweatdropped. "You'll probably see him at the welcome back dinner."

"Oh yeah, that's tonight, isn't it?" Hinata had recovered from the subject of the boy she admired, and changed the conversation to the event that always happened at the beginning of the year.

"Well, duh, Hina."

"Hey, who's Neeka?" Tenten's voice from the upstairs came, and the other girls looked up, as well as other curious bystanders. "I'm her roommate, along with Cam."

"New student?"

"Who else could it be?" Sakura asked dryly as Kiyo grinned sheepishly at her stupid question.

"Whoever it is, she's not here," Hinata pointed out. Sakura and Kiyo looked up at their friends upstairs. Hinata had somehow silently stolen upstairs and was standing next to Tenten on the stairs.

"Sheesh Hina, how do you do that?" Kiyo asked as she and Sakura walked up the stairs to join them.

Instead of answering, Hinata pointed the nearly empty room, save for three beds, three closets, and a bathroom. Tenten's black bag lay forgotten on the floor. "Tenten's the only one with luggage here. This Neeka girl must not be here yet."

"Well, where is she?"

"How would I know?"

/

"Damn, this sucks." Inuzuka Kiba groaned as he and his companions entered the courtyard leading away from the office, one hand on the collar of his dog, Akamaru. "Summer break went by way too fast."

"For once, I agree with Kiba." Nara Shikamaru put his hands into his pockets and popped his neck. "What a drag."

The autumn leaves on the trees growing in the courtyard waved lazily in the wind. One broke off and the auburn leaf caught Akamaru's attention. He began to yip excitedly, tugging on Kiba's hold on his collar. Kiba frowned.

"C'mon Akamaru, behave."

"Control your dog, Kiba," the dark-haired teenager behind him commented, his onyx eyes narrowing in annoyance.

Kiba scowled as Akamaru continued to jump around. "Shut up, Sasuke. He is under control, and you can mind your own business."

"Hn." Sasuke brushed off the comment and continued walking, ignoring Kiba's predicament.

"Has anyone seen Naruto?" A different boy with pale-colored eyes much like Hinata's asked, ignoring both Kiba and Sasuke and addressing Shikamaru.

"He's probably been dropped off already," Shikamaru replied. "Don't worry about it, Neji." He tilted his head towards the sky to look at the clouds. _Huh, that one looks like…_

But what it did look like, Shikamaru never figured out, because at that moment, Akamaru broke free from Kiba's hold (causing him to fall backwards) and started running off, barking as he ran through the courtyard and out of sight.

"Shit!" Kiba swore as he got up with another, larger boy's help. "We've got to find him."

"Maybe if you didn't bring the dog in the first place…" His portly friend suggested, but Kiba looked at him incredulously.

"Not bring Akamaru? You're crazy, Chouji, just crazy!"

"That's enough," Shikamaru sighed, and pointed in the direction the dog had run. "Our first priority is to find Akamaru before someone finds him. Then we can figure out whose fault it is."

"Found him." Sasuke's voice sounded from down the hall, and everyone turned towards him, surprised at how fast he was, as he put his hands in his pockets and jerked his head towards a connecting courtyard. Everyone listened. A faint barking could be heard, and Kiba grinned.

"Jeez, Sasuke, that was quick. Let's go get him."

/

Neeka was not having a good day. First of all, she was lost. Why the hell did this school need to be so big? There were way too many courtyards and hallways and the buildings seemed to have been placed randomly around the campus. Her head was spinning after five minutes, or maybe it was the cold fall weather.

Second, apparently the students here didn't take well to new kids. She had already been led down the wrong hallway twice on the way to the bathrooms, and she _really_ had to go. Not to mention, these three punks in front of her didn't look like they were letting her go anytime soon.

"Let me say it one more time," Neeka growled through gritted teeth, despite her trembling hands. "I need to get to the Chunin dorm. Let me through, or someone's gonna get hurt."

One of the boys laughed, and the two others blocked any exit as he leaned closer. "Feisty, aren't you? You're just gonna have to learn your place around here."

His breath smelled of alcohol and mean. Neeka wrinkled her nose in distaste and tried to move out of the way. He grabbed her wrists and tried to force her against the wall. _Oh no you fucking don't!_

Faster than anyone (including herself) could comprehend, she had punched him in the face, and he staggered back, holding his nose and groaning.

Neeka clenched her fists, and held them up in front of her. "Try that again, stinkbag."

He glared at her through his blood-coated hand (_did I actually break his nose?_) and straightened up. "You little bitch!"

He and his cronies lunged at her, and she instinctively flattened herself against the wall, when all of a sudden a white shaggy dog came bounding out of nowhere and positioned itself between her and the punks, growling and barking, telling them to stay away.

One of them pointed a shaking hand at the dog, his voice trembling. "H-Hey, that's Inuzuka Kiba's dog!"

"S-Shit!" The other swore. "If he's with the rest of _them_, we're in trouble."

"Let's get out of here," the leader, now suddenly scared out of his wits, suggested, and the gang ran off into one of the other corridors, with their tails between their legs, or as Neeka imagined.

She paused for a minute, trying to comprehend what just happened, before yelling after them, "And stay away!" She turned back to the dog, and reached down a hand to him. He sniffed it before allowing her to pet him.

"Hey, thanks for saving me there." She laughed as he got bored with her hand and started eating her red chain necklaces that dangled from her neck. "Where'd you come from, anyways?"

A chilling thought suddenly occurred to her. The dog's owner, Inuzuka Kiba, he and his friends had a reputation that scared even those thugs. If they found her, who knows what they might do?

_I've gotta get going, _she thought as she patted the mysterious dog's head one last time and picked up her blue book bag, which had fallen on the ground during the 'fight'.

"Hey! Akamaru!"

Neeka's head shot up. Someone was running towards her, and she stood up abruptly and turned around just as the mysterious person caught up.

"Hey, you." A hand caught her wrist and she pulled back instinctively, turning around to find herself looking into black vertical eyes belonging to a boy with messy brown hair and red markings on the side of his face.

"You found him," the boy said, and the dog (Akamaru, she supposed) bounded over to him, a happy doggy smile on his face.

Neeka shrugged and slung her bag over her shoulder, tucking a strand of her dark red hair behind her ear. "Yeah, well, actually he found me."

"Kiba." Looking behind him, Neeka saw a small group of other males lingering in the hall, about six other teenagers observing them. _So that's what he meant by 'Kiba and the rest of them.'_

It had been the one with the hood that had spoken. "We need to get going. We have to be at the Chunin dorm by 5:00 if we want to get to the 'welcome back dinner' on time."

"Oh yeah." Kiba stood up, his hand grasping the collar of his dog once more. He looked at Neeka. "What's your name again?"

"Neeka," she replied, before adding, "I'm a new student, and I'm afraid I'm lost. I'm a Chunin, too."

Kiba broke out into a grin. "Well, that's great. We'll walk you over there."

"We don't have all day," another teenager with dark eyes said, and started walking in the other direction.

Kiba scowled. "Don't listen to Sasuke. He's always like that. By the way, I'm Inuzuka Kiba, nice to meet you."

He held out his hand and Neeka stared at it for a moment, before understanding his intentions. "Oh, right." She shook his hand, surprised at how gentle his touch was despite his calloused hands.

Kiba smiled again and led her over to the rest of the group, introducing her to his friends and describing the ones that weren't there. Neeka nodded a lot, committing the names to memory. She'd add the faces to them once she got to know them. _Kiba, Sasuke, Neji, Chouji, Shikamaru, Lee, Shino, and…and…aw crap._

/

Kiyo finished flipping through Ino's copy of Vogue for the fourth time before letting out a huge dramatic sigh. Ino was currently in her and Sakura's room, but the others were in the common room waiting for the rest of the boys to show up.

Unfortunately, waiting was not something Kiyo did very well. (Why else would she have quit Kakashi's class this year?) She had already tested her patience waiting for Ino to show up, and when she did, she had brought Camellia with her, a girl that not many people cared for, despite the fact they'd known each other since they were genin.

Speaking of whom, the girl sat in a chair across the room, studying the dorm with bored green eyes. The same color as Sakura's, Kiyo thought, but not with the same warmth. Camellia (or Cam, as she was also known) smirked at her.

"What's your problem?" Her voice was smooth, laced with sarcasm. Kiyo felt a twinge of annoyance at this girl. _What's yours?_

Kiyo looked away, and she felt Cammy's gaze turn onto someone else. _Thank god. _There was something about her that left Kiyo slightly unnerved. Maybe it was the fact that she came from Amekagure, the small city where it rained constantly, causing to people there to have a darker kind of mood. Truth be told, no one was sure why Cam was like that. She didn't let many people get close to her.

_It's probably better that way, _Kiyo thought, turning towards the windows. It was already dark outside, which was unusual for September. Especially on the first day. But being in the dark was fine. _You keep your secrets, I'll keep mine._

She laid down onto the couch and tilted her head up at her best friend, who was standing behind the couch she was residing on and raised an eyebrow down at her. "Hina, I'm bored."

"Um, one minute," the violet-haired girl replied, and picked the magazine up off the floor from where Kiyo had dropped it, racking her brains for something for her to do before Kiyo got too bored. That would be very bad and very dangerous.

"Are they here yet?" Naruto yelled from his room in the boys' section. Because of the prank he and Kiyo had set up, he couldn't leave the room until the door was opened from the other side. Kiyo rolled her eyes.

"No, not yet."

Sakura shut the door to her room and ran down the steps to the common room. Spotting the Vogue, her green eyes sparkled. "Kiyo, can I?"

Her friend gestured to it with a sweep of her hand as if to say 'yours', and Hinata handed it to her. The pink-haired girl sat down on in a red upholstered chair delightedly to read.

"Kiyo, if you're so bored, why don't you go decorate your room or something?" Hinata suggested, leaning over the back of the couch to look at the aforementioned girl.

"I would, but Tenten won't let me borrow her dartboard." Kiyo frowned at the stairs leading to the girls' corridor, as if her friend could actually see her annoyance.

"Well, why don't you see what you're going to wear tonight?" Hinata suggested again. Kiyo's eyes suddenly sparkled in a way that Hinata knew meant she had suddenly been inspired.

"Or," Kiyo grinned, and the Hyuuga suddenly knew what was coming, "we could find something pretty for you to wear and Naruto might see you as a potential girl–"

"T-That's ridiculous!" Hinata stuttered, and Naruto, who had heard his name, yelled from upstairs, "What about me?"

"Nothing, mind your own business!" Kiyo shouted back, and turned back to her red-faced friend. "Oh c'mon Hina, I'm sure Ino would love to use you as her dress-up doll."

"I sure would!" Ino chimed in, who was suddenly next to Kiyo. The girl let out a surprised scream and toppled off of the couch.

"Damn Ino, do _not_ do that again!" Kiyo growled, lying face-up on the dark green carpet that covered the common room. Ino rolled her blue eyes. "Whatever, Kiyomi."

Cam, who had overheard the conversation, stood up, her first real movement since she had arrived an hour before. "I agree with Hinata." Her voice held hints of anger, making everyone in the room stop what they were doing. "Stop teasing her about it."

Kiyo raised an eyebrow from where she lay on the carpet, too lazy to get up. "Just a suggestion, Cam. You don't need to fly off the handle." _Sheesh, and she asked me what my problem was._

Hinata grabbed a book and held it up in front of her face to make it look like she was busy so they wouldn't continue teasing her about her crush on the boy upstairs. Camellia turned on her heel and walked upstairs without another word, her black hair flying behind her. There was a slam of a door and then silence. _Good riddance._

Kiyo sighed and sat up. "I'm so bored. Why are they so late?"

"I don't know." Ino sat down where Kiyo had fallen off, much to her annoyance. "No one's seen that new girl, either."

The brown-haired girl placed her hands behind her head and lay back, looking at the ceiling where someone had decided to be funny and throw their shoes up there, leaving prints on the ceiling. _Where are they? _"I'm bored."

"Why don't you go outside and look for them, then?" Sakura suggested, flipping to a page about the newest shoe line. Kiyo sighed and sat up, rubbing her neck (_stupid Ino, that was a long way to fall)._

"Fine." She brushed the wrinkle out of her clothes and stood up. Looking out the window, she saw again how dark it was, and probably cold too. "Has anyone seen my jacket?"

"You mean the one that Ino used to test her makeup on?"

The blonde girl sweatdropped under Kiyo's glare. "Really, I did you a favor. Jean jackets are _so_ out this season."

Kiyo closed her eyes, trying to save the rage building up inside of her for someone who really deserved it. "Fine, I'll go outside in a freaking tank top and shorts. Hey, maybe if I'm lucky, I'll freeze to death."

Ino grinned. "That's the spirit!"

Hinata sighed and handed Kiyo her white fur hoodie. "Here, but give it back when you come back."

Kiyo's annoyed face quickly turned into a grin. "Thank you Hina!" _Yeah, I'll give it back, let's say that._

"Oh, and Kiyo?"

"Yes?"

"I don't believe in the whole 'best friends will borrow your stuff and keep it so long they'll forget it's yours.' That's my favorite jacket. Bring it back."

"…Fine."

"And if you happen to bump into Sasuke, please, please, please don't get too much blood on it."

Kiyo scowled. "How much blood?"

"You know what, just don't get into any fights. We have Tenten to take people out for us."

"True dat!" Tenten shouted from her room behind her closed door, on which she had already hung up a 'Toxik, enter at your own risk' sign (everyone was waiting for the day when she figured out 'toxic' was spelled wrong; spelling was not one of Tenten's best traits).

Kiyo nodded and took the hooded jacket and headed towards the door, tightening her ponytail in a way that her friends knew meant she was stressed, whether from the fact she wasn't allowed to beat the crap out of Uchiha or that some of their friends were missing in the dark.

But before she could even touch the door handle, it turned and swung open.

/

Uchiha Sasuke didn't like large crowds. Really, he avoided large groups as much as possible. Technically, seven people weren't a lot, but when two of them are talking and laughing as loud as possible, one is complaining about what a drag this place is as loud as possible, and the others are being as loud as possible, well, he felt like punching something.

_Stupid Itachi… _He thought as the electric light posts around the campus buzzed and turned on, dying the school in a yellowish glow. He didn't exactly know how it was his brother's fault, but it was nice to blame someone. Besides, sooner or later it was always Itachi's fault.

"And then, Shino had to pretend he was blind, just so we could get the popcorn, hey, you remember that Shino?"

Shino nodded, and the new girl (_what's her name again? Neeya or something?)_ laughed and replied, "So did Akamaru behave like a guide dog, or did he run all over the place?"

Kiba grinned sheepishly. "Uh…he kinda ran all over the place."

Akamaru barked, and it was this impeccable timing that caused Neeka _(Neeka, that's right) _to laugh again. Sasuke ignored the pair of them and looked up at the sky.

The sky wasn't completely black yet. He could still see wispy gray clouds sail across the night sky, and looking towards the hills, he could still see a soft glow just peeking over the horizon. He never understood what the difference between a sunrise and a sunset was. It all looked the same.

"Hey, we're here." These words were spoken by Chouji, and the others fell silent, looking up at the brick building with silver lettering on the door: **Chunin Dorm.**

Sasuke realized that the others had paused, staring at the building that was to be their home for the rest of the year. Seeming as no one else was going to do it, he reached for the door and slowly opened it. _Idiots..._

He did _not_ expect to be face to face looking into the dark hazel eyes of the girl who hated his guts. He saw her mouth turn from a smile to a frown as she recognized the face in front of her– and turned red as they both realized exactly how close they were.

Kiyo scowled and backed up, turning her head away. "Damnit, you're not dead. That's another hope dashed."

"'Hello' to you too," he replied, ignoring her annoyed look and stepping into the common room of the dorm. It wasn't anything special. Not like he was expecting anything.

"Sasuke-kun, hi!" Sakura bounded up to him, beaming with happiness, her eyes shining compared to her very pissed-off friend. "How was your summer?"

He didn't really want to answer, so Sasuke was almost grateful when he was interrupted.

"Who's this?" Tenten's voice, excited and wound up, caught everyone's attention. She pulled the red-haired girl out of the group by the wrist and dragged her to the middle of the room. "Let me guess, you're Neeka, right?"

Neeka nodded, and Sasuke mentally rolled his eyes. _Now she decides to be silent._

"Well, hey, welcome to Konoha Boarding School!" Tenten pointed to herself and then to the others in the room. "I'm Tenten, that's Hinata, Ino, Sakura, Cam is upstairs and you've already met Kiba, Shino, and the rest, right? Oh, and the sulking one is Kiyomi."

"I'm not sulking!" Everyone sweatdropped at this outburst and moved away from the girl sitting in a corner facing a wall. "And I'm Kiyo, call me Kiyomi and _die_."

"Kiyomi."

Neeka gulped and tried to look away before the girl named Kiyo _(gotta remember that...)_ strangled Sasuke. She saw Hinata run over to them and figured she was probably pulling them apart at the moment. Her gaze wandered up to the stairs, where she saw a girl with long black hair staring down at her.

"A new girl, huh?" Her tone had a sharp edge to it. Neeka guessed this was Cam. "Whoop-de-do."

She strode down the stairs and headed towards the group that had gathered in the common room. "Neeka? What kind of name is _that_?" Her green eyes seemed to be laughing at her. Neeka immediately disliked her.

"A nice one," Neeka defended, her eyes narrowing. "What's yours?"

The girl just put a hand on her hip and glared at her before stalking off towards another room, her heels clicking against the wood floors.

"Ignore her. Cam hates it when she's not the center of attention," Kiba whispered somewhere to her right, but Neeka continued staring after where Cam had disappeared into the other room. _What a bitch._

The rest of the boys decided to go upstairs to figure out their rooms and roommates, muttering among themselves, leaving the girls alone.

"Cam isn't that bad once you get to know her," the small girl with the soft voice (_Hinata, was it?_) suggested. _Oh, so she got them to stop fighting, _Neeka thought. _Maybe she's tougher than she looks._

"You think everyone is nice, Hina," the blonde girl scoffed, plopping down onto the couch and pulling out a mirror. "But Cam is a great shopping buddy, I'll give you that."

Tenten continued to smile at Neeka. "What do you like to do?"

"Why do you want to know?"

Tenten pointed to the upstairs. "We're roomies. You, me, and Cam. I'd like to get to know the person I'll be sleeping across from."

"Well, I like fire, I like music, I play basketball and soccer–"

"Soccer?" Kiyo shouted while at the same time Tenten shouted, "Basketball?"

Neeka blinked. "Y-yeah."

"Awesome! What position?"

"Left wing, why?"

Kiyo sauntered over to the girl, and smiled for the first time since Neeka had arrived. "I played right wing last year. I can get a good word in for you with the captain."

"She's not playing soccer, she's playing basketball," Tenten argued. The two girls glared at each other. Neeka blinked, surprised.

"I can do both," she offered, while her inner voice was screaming, _God no! You don't have the time!_

"I mean, as long as it doesn't interfere with my schoolwork. I'm here on a scholarship," she added, feeling like she was blabbing on and on. "If my GPA drops, I'm in trouble."

"That's okay, a lot of people are here on scholarships." The girl with pink hair _(PINK?) _popped in. "I'm here on one too. So is Cam and Shikamaru."

All of a sudden, there was a crash, a shout, and loud laughter coming from Naruto's room. Kiyo and Tenten suddenly had a big grin on their face. "It worked!"

Ino sighed. "What did you do this time?"

The two girls only grinned, and them, Ino, Hinata and Neeka raced upstairs.

Naruto was doubled over laughing, standing in the middle of his room, while Sasuke was soaking wet, a bucket lying a few feet away. He scowled and looked up at the door where it had been precariously balancing a few minutes ago. "I'm going to _kill_ you, Naruto."

"Hey, it was Kiyo's idea!" Naruto choked out, his face red from laughing as he pointed a shaking finger at the brown-haired girl. "I just set it up, and after that, I was kind of trapped in here!"

Sasuke glared at said-girl. _Stupid bitch. _She just grinned and held up a camera.

"Here, Neeka, take a picture." She thrust it into the new girl's hands, and posed in front of the scene.

Neeka raised an eyebrow. "O-kay. How does this work."

"Just press the red button."

A flash went off, and the picture appeared in the small screen of the camera. Tenten peered over Neeka's shoulder to look. "Oh, that is _so_ going onto Facebook."

Hinata looked over at Naruto and Sasuke. "N-Naruto, I suggest you start running now, Sasuke looks really mad."

Naruto gulped and looked over at his dark-haired roommate, who did look very angry, possibly homicidal. "Aha ha ha ha ha…aw shit."

/

Mizaki Yusei stood just outside the Chunin dorm in the dark, his hand in his pockets. The lights were on inside, and he knew he should probably get inside before it was too late.

He smirked as he heard muffled shouts and laughter behind the door. He'd known these people since they were Genin, but he still wasn't quite able to be _with_ those people. To know them. To laugh with them, and not at them. He knew what they called him behind his back (_jerk, annoying, god-damnit-Yusei-can't-you-ever-be-serious_), but he frankly didn't care.

_It doesn't matter in real life, anyways, _he decided, and opened the door. No one noticed; they were too wrapped up in their own lives to notice the tall teenager enter. The only one who even acknowledged him was the one they called Cam, and she only raised her eyes from painting her nails for a brief second.

_It doesn't matter, _Yusei told himself. He didn't even _like_ these people anyways. He tolerated them. Lived with them. But he didn't like them.

He walked silently upstairs, noting that the doors each had silver numbers on them with the roommates printed onto a sheet of paper. He stopped at room 34. _You've got to be kidding me…_

"Hey, Yusei!"

He turned around and saw the familiar hyperactive blond standing down the hall; apparently he had just come from downstairs. Naruto noticed Yusei's expression.

"Yeah, we're roommates, along with Sasuke-teme. It wouldn't have been my first choice either, but, eh." Naruto shrugged. "Hurry up, we're all going down to the dining hall for the welcome back dinner. They'd better have ramen."

As Naruto sped down the stairs again, Yusei smiled, thinking about exactly how 'interesting' this year was going to be. Uchiha Sasuke, Uzumaki Naruto, and the rest of them, they were heading towards disaster, sooner or later.

_Interesting._ Yes, that was the word.

/

Cam really didn't care about the welcome back dinner. Truly, she would have been fine just staying in the common room with a few people, just hanging around. Or by herself, that was fine, too.

But of course, the whole welcome back thing was mandatory, and it made her sick. She hated being controlled like that. She hated a lot of things, but most of all, she hated it when she couldn't get her way. After all, she used to be able to get anything she wanted under the sun. Why should that change?

_Hmph. _Her fingers traced the patterns on the surface of the table in the dining hall boredly, as the people around her chattered on and on, waiting for the event to start. Worthless conversation. She was stuck sitting next to Kiba and the new girl, whatever her name was. _Like I care._

"Hey, Cam, what elective are you taking this year?" Ino asked her. Cam let a small smile cross her face. The blonde girl was one of the few people here who didn't totally annoy her. _I guess birds of a feather flock together._

"Yeah, actually, drama." She was about to answer when a loud laugh from over on her right interrupted her. Cam let her gaze slide over to where Kiba and the new girl were talking and laughing, and it annoyed her. "Excuse me, but will you and Neepa please keep it down? Some of us want to have a decent conversation."

The girl narrowed her hazel eyes at her again. _Oh yeah, that's so scary, _Cam thought sarcastically. "My name is Neeka."

"And I don't really care." She shot back. Cam looked over at Kiba. "You really have a thing for _dogs_, don't you?"

The people who heard them at the table went quiet. One could hear a pin drop. Cam sat there, a smug look on her face.

Neeka had clenched her fists. Her eyes were blazing as she glared at the girl and raised a threatening fist to deck her. Cam didn't move a muscle. _Try me, bitch._

"Trouble?" Neeka found her hand stopped by a boy with the long, spiky dark hair. Cam recognized him as Mizaki Yusei, who found situations like these hilarious. Her lips curved into another smile. _Saved by the bell, hmm?_

Yusei grinned. "Catfight, ladies?"

Neeka scowled and wrenched her arm away, glaring at Cam before turning to Yusei, who continued to grin. "What's so funny?"

He just continued to smile, obviously enjoying the little conflict.

Tenten, who was sitting across from Cam and Neeka, and right next to Kiyo, sighed. "Yusei has a weird sense of humor. Just ignore him."

Yusei smirked and went to go sit next to Tenten, much to her displeasure. "Try ignoring me now."

"Okay." Kiyo shrugged, and pushed Yusei backwards, causing him to topple over, off the seat, and into the aisle. Tenten then scooted in, leaving no space left for him. The two grinned and continued their conversation as Yusei scowled at their backs.

"You're so mean."

"Suck it up."

Cam rolled her eyes. She didn't care much for Tenten or Kiyo either. They were too brash, too loud, and they never _listened_ to her. They always turned away her much-needed advice, _("That is so not your color. Try something tackier, it's sure to go with you.")_ and she detested them as much as they did her.

Truth be told, she didn't like many people at the stupid school. Most of the people who weren't completely dull and unimaginative were either useless or were too stubborn to listen to her.

_Of course, _she turned her eyes towards Hinata as the stupid headmistress made her way to the podium at the front of the hall. _Others can be very interesting indeed. _Personally, she thought the timid girl was adorable, and wasn't shy to tell her so.

"Welcome back to Konoha Boarding School, students!" the headmistress, Tsunade, announced. Cam tried to tune out, but the annoying woman's voice echoed throughout the room. "To those new here, I am Tsunade, known as the headmistress of this school. Some of you may have seen me already, and know exactly how 'nice' I can be." Here she glanced over at a small group of genin who kind of shivered under her intense gaze. "I hope this will be a great year, and that I won't see too many of you in the principal's office. That is all." She started to sit down, and then stood up, on a second thought, leaning down close to the microphone on the podium.

"Oh, and to whoever stole seven bottles of my sake; _so_ not funny. That is all." Two ANBU a few tables over grinned and high-fived when her back was turned.

"Wow. She's…interesting," Neeka commented, watching as the middle-aged woman sat down and poured herself a drink. "Is she always like that?"

Shikamaru sighed. "You should see her when she's _drunk_."

"Oh, yeah, that was when she got onto the PA system, wasn't that?" Sakura, sitting on the right of Ino commented. The group started to laugh, and Neeka shifted nervously.

"What did she do?"

"'Hey, Shizune, what's thish button do?'" Kiyo imitated, swaying in her seat as if she was drunk. "'Will Dan Dickwad please come to the offish? Your mom ish here, and she's got ya your new pants, seeing as ya soiled the old ones.'" The others giggled like a bunch of school girls–which they were.

"Did she actually say that?" Neeka cried incredulously. "She so did not say that."

"Actually, Dan Dickwad was in math class at the time," Shikamaru sighed, seeing as there was no way getting around this conversation. "He turned about as red as your hair."

Ino grabbed a roll from the basket on the table and looked at Neeka. "Oh yeah. Your hair's so pretty. Is it real, or did you dye it?"

"It's dyed, actually."

Cam rolled her eyes as the others girls practically drooled over the new girl. The sound of them sucking up to her was nearly deafening, or at least she thought. Personally, she didn't _care_. However, she couldn't help but overhear Neeka's explanation of her family.

"I have one brother, his name is Rye-"

"Like the bread?"

"Kiyo, shut up and eat your chicken."

"No, not like the bread." Neeka sounded like she was going to laugh. "He's 18 and almost in college."

"Is he hot?"

"He's my brother, how should I know?"

A question suddenly popped into Cam's mind and she smiled, sidling up to the new girl, suddenly friendly. "Do you and your family get along?"

The others looked at her questionably, but Neeka just replied, "Yeah, we get along fine."

Cam smiled again, and pressed on. "Do you think they'll ever _visit_?"

The new girl's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "Well, yeah, I'm sure they'll send a letter, like on Christmas or call. _Maybe_ they'll visit, I mean, they love me enough to contact me somehow."

"I'm sure." However, Cam wasn't looking at Neeka. She was looking at the place Kiyo had been sitting just a few moments before.

No one noticed but Hinata, and the violet-haired girl sent Cam a disappointed glance. The smirk on her face disappeared, and she cast her eyes to the ground. Hinata was the _only_ one who could make her feel guilty. She watched as Hinata got up to go find her friend. As soon as she was out of sight, Cam let another smirk cross her face.

She was good. Good at finding the weaknesses in people and using them to manipulate them, to use them. But she wasn't even dimly aware of the cracks in her own armor.

/

Hinata knew where she could find her best friend. They went there whenever they felt upset or just wanted to be alone. She wasn't sure which one it was–maybe it was both.

Her feet pounded against the stone path hat weaved in between the buildings of the campus. She took a right, then a left, her long dark hair flying behind her, barely visible in the darkness of the night. Soon she came to the only building that the streetlights wouldn't shine on–the one they called the Haunted Snake.

A few years ago, three students tried to go onto the roof of the building and jump from it over the wall, as the building came up right next to the wall. They made it to the other side, only to be bitten by a snake that prowled on the outside. Two of the three bodies were found, and that scared others off to never try again. Only one class was taught in that building, and it was empty most of the time.

Most of the time.

The gray colored door slowly opened with a creak. There was no one in the ground room, and Hinata sneezed from dust particles trampled under her feet. _She's already in there?_

A spiraling staircase in the middle of the room went up three floors. Hinata didn't stop on a floor. She stopped in between the landings and leaned against the middle of the stairway, the support for the steps, and took a breath. _One, two, three…_

There was a scratching sound upstairs. Hinata ran up the steps again, two at a time, and found a portion of the wall had opened, revealing a dark tunnel with a little light at the end. She wasn't surprised. She had done this numerous times.

"Kiyo? You in here?" she called softly. _You'd better be in here._

"Y-yeah." A muffled voice at the end of the hall called back to her, and Hinata entered the darkness, raising her hands to feel her way through the dark. Her pale eyes could barely see in the dim light. _Why didn't I bring a flashlight?_

She found her friend sitting in a small window seat, arms wrapped around her knees, looking out into the darkness outside. The sparkling lights of the city of Konoha caught Hinata's eye, glowing, tiny pin-pricks of light, and she sat down in a chair right next to Kiyo, watching silently.

"It's really pretty down there." Kiyo's voice had a shaky edge to it, and she didn't turn her gaze from the lights through the glass. "They look like stars."

"Uh-huh," Hinata replied, gazing at the lit up metropolis. This was one of the few places you could actually see the outside world beyond the gates of the school. It was their secret spot. She looked over at Kiyo and still saw traces of hurt in her eyes. "Do you want to talk about it?"

The girl closed her brown eyes, and shook her head. "No. I just…why would she say that?"

Hinata shrugged. "Cam just says stuff like that. I don't think she means it." _There's so many lights. _Her eyes looked back to the window. _Are that many people still up?_

Kiyo rested her head on her knees. "I feel stupid."

"Don't. A lot of people go through this."

"Yeah?" Hinata sensed the bitterness in her words, and looked away as her friend continued. "Do yours call?"

"Well…um…yes." Hinata was glad it was dark. Her face was turning red as she realized the point her friend was trying to prove. "On my birthday and Christmas, that's it."

Kiyo sighed, and looked back at the window, where lights flashed as cars drove by.. "Mine still think I'm twelve years old. They didn't even bother to send a card on Christmas. Not even on my fucking birthday."

"Maybe they were busy."

"It takes, what, ten, fifteen minutes to get in the car and drive over here?" Kiyo let out a laugh. "They're down there somewhere, and they sure as hell don't want me."

Hinata lowered her eyes, saddened by her friend's outburst. "You don't know that."

"They made it clear enough."

Silence overcame them as the minutes ticked by, five, ten. Hinata would rather have had Kiyo teasing her about her crush on Naruto than this uncomfortable silence. She spoke again. "You want to go back?"

"No. Don't let me keep you here. If you want to go, go."

"I'm not leaving then."

A faint smile crossed her face, but then it disappeared as she turned back to the window.

_They're down there somewhere, huh? _Hinata recalled the words. _Then why do you keep looking for them?_

Kiyo pressed her hand to the cold glass window to look closer, her eyes nearly hurting from looking at the lights so much. But she didn't stop. If she closed her eyes, she could still see it, all luminous and sparkling, like stars in the sky come to earth. She closed her eyes and pictured it in her mind, locking it away forever.

It was almost enough.

* * *

><p><strong>AN(2): **Almost forgot. I'm not going to be doing a disclaimer for every chapter.  
>If you need to see one from me, go back to the end of the first chapter. Plus, I think we all know I don't own Naruto anyway. XD<p> 


	3. Megaphone

**A/N: **See? Told you it'd be soon. xD  
>Anywho, here's the last pre-written chapter ( that's been written by Waffles ).<br>I've already started on the next one, so hopefully that will be out soon, too. Onto the story!

* * *

><p>"<em>It's really pretty down there. They look like stars."<em>

_/_

Tsunade held her head in her hands as she stared miserably at the clock. It was 5:00 AM, and she had a killer headache. Maybe Shizune had been right about drinking that much. Hangovers were the worst.

She pulled open a drawer next to her desk and fumbled around its contents, looking for a Tylenol. Or something. Anything, really, that could make her migraine go away. _Dang, I need to get organized._

She dumped unneeded or unwanted objects into the trash. Old receipts, the electric bill for room 4E, a winning lottery ticket, a keychain. A small piece of paper fell and fluttered to the ground. Tsunade's eyebrows furrowed as she picked it up. _What the…_

The sound of the phone dragged her out of her thoughts, and the blonde woman's head shot up. "I'll get it!" she shouted, stumbling out of the room, the paper clutched in her hand. She cradled the phone against her shoulder as she continued looking at the picture from the drawer. "Hello?"

"Tsunade. How nice to hear you voice again," a voice from the other side drawled. Tsunade's blood froze cold. _No, not him…_

"What do you want?" she asked, her hands shaking despite her angry tone. "Why are you calling?"

"Can't I call my old friend without getting the third degree?" The man on the other side smirked. He knew exactly how much she loathed him, how much she _feared_ him. "I suppose you're going to be pretty busy over there, especially with _her_ enrolled in the school now."

Tsunade's eyes widened. "Wh-What?"

"Tsk. I would have expected you to have been better on top of things. Yes, she's enrolled this year. But I guess no one would have told _you_. You hate her, don't you?"

"I don't," Tsunade murmured in defense, almost automatically, because that was always her answer whenever someone asked. "I don't."

"I suppose you won't mind if I stop over at that school of yours for a few days, would you Tsunade?" He continued to purr in that fake sickeningly-sweet voice. "Catch up with each other? I wouldn't mind an old talk about old times, take some time to visit _her_, and I hear Itachi's kid brother is all grown up now."

Tsunade snapped out of her dazed state to shout, "Don't you dare fucking come here! You're not welcome! Not at all!"

"Oh?" He laughed. "I believe I _can_ come. Whenever I want to."

Tsunade gritted her teeth. "You're just lucky you're not locked up, like you should be. Where the hell are you?"

"I've been a few places, here and there." There was the sound of shouting in the background. The man ignored this and continued. "Certainly, I'm not about to be 'locked up'. However, you, Tsunade, you're not going anywhere, are you?"

_("That school can only bind you. It makes you weak. You will fail to realize your true potential."_

but who did he think he was anyways?)

"You stay…" Tsunade growled, her voice shaky at the edges. "You stay the hell away from here. Don't you fucking come anywhere near here!"

He laughed, a laugh she knew well, one that echoed in her head and stirred up memories.

Memories that she'd rather leave behind.

The phone went dead, but his voice still rang in her ears. _"I believe I can come. Whenever I want to."_

Numbly she stared at the picture, the old picture. She had been so young. So full of hope. Her Jiraiya, and _him_. Where had all that innocence gone? Were those smiles are that remained?

(But she couldn't get him to smile, no, no matter how hard she tried.

_Why are people always leaving?)_

"Shizune! I need you to make some calls to the police for me!"

/

Ino believed that sleeping in was good. It prevented bags under the eyes, left you feeling clean and refreshed, and besides, who actually likes to wake up early?

Sakura believed Ino should be a spokesperson. She could just imagine turning on the TV and hearing the blonde Yamanaka going, "Do you hate stains on your clothes? Get clean with Oxiclean!"

Ino vs. Billy Mays…hmm…

Anyways, both Ino and Sakura believed sleeping in was excellent. However, it is very hard to sleep in when you are awakened by the yelling of "MITSUKI-CHAAAAAN!" down the hall, and then finding that there is a new, unidentified girl sitting in the dark on the bed just to the right of you.

Who you swear wasn't there the night before.

"HOLY FUCKING CHICKENS!" Ino screamed, and nearly fell out her bed _(now I know how Kiyo felt last night)_ and stood up. "WHO THE FUCK ARE YOU?"

The girl raised an eyebrow, and answered calmly, "I'm Hamako Nina. But call me Neen. Your… new roommate," she added, pointing to herself when she saw their confused looks.

Sakura was able to compose herself faster than Ino, and smiled at Nina. "Well, hi, I'm Haruno Sakura, and that's Yamanaka Ino." She looked around for a lamp before turning it on, being able to clearly see the face of the new person. "And yeah, we're your roommates."

The purple-haired girl nodded, committing the names and faces to memory. There was more yelling from the hall. "Is something going on out there?"

Sakura shrugged. "Nah, just some late arrivals. Nothing much. If you want, open the door, you'll see what's going on."

Neen looked at the door, where the shouts were getting louder. _That much noise for late arrivals? Nothing much? _She walked over and pulled the door open.

A girl with wavy hair she had seen coming in was being thoroughly glomped by another girl with dark brown hair and bunny pajamas. _This place gets weirder every second._

The girl with the wavy hair struggled out of the hug. "Okay, okay, nice to see you again too. Now get off me."

The other girl pouted and let go. She then caught sight of Neen, who mentally sweatdropped. _Oh crap._ "Oh yeah, you're a new student aren't you?"

Ino appeared behind Neen in the doorway, crossing her arms across her light-blue tank top. "Her name is Nina, or Neen."

Neen nodded, crossing her fingers that the girl wouldn't death-hug her too. Thankfully, she didn't. Instead, the girl shrugged and smiled. "Well, hi Neen. I'm Kiyomi, but call me that and _die_."

Taking a step back, Neen forced a smile, wondering if it was too late to call her parents and get herself the hell out of there. But then she remembered the position she was in to be asking favors and held her ground.

Another girl _(how many people are there here?) _with long dark hair, almost violet, stepped out into the hall, fully dressed. "Kiyo, don't scare them off before they even start the year."

"But Hina-chaaaaan…"

"And if you don't get dressed soon, you're going to be late."

There was the slam of a door, and the hallway had one less person in it. The girl with the violet hair shrugged and proceeded downstairs. Ino and Sakura returned to their rooms, leaving the girl and Neen alone.

The girl with the wavy chestnut hair looked at Nina and held out her hand. "Um, hi, I'm Uematsu Mitsuki."

Neen nodded, hoping that she'd be able to remember all of the names and faces of the people. It was only her first day, and nearly everyone she had met was, well, crazy. "Are you new too?"

Mitsuki shook her head. "I came here near the end of the year. I know a few people, but I'm still kind of new."

"Oh." Slightly relieved that there were sane people here, Neen shrugged. "Okay. So I guess I'll see you around."

CRASH!

Doors in the hallway opened, and people stuck their heads out to see where that had come from. Mitsuki and Neen exchanged looks before rushing down the stairs.

"Damn it, Yusei! That wasn't funny!"

"From where I'm standing it is."

A blond boy with spiky hair was currently trying to strangle another boy with long black hair- but not succeeding, considering the fact he was stuck _(superglue?)_ to the seat of one of the chairs inhabiting the common room of the dorm. When he tried to stand up, he succeeded in knocking over several other articles of furniture.

"Gah! What the hell was that for?"

"Boredom, mostly." The other boy smirked. The one stuck in the chair growled and attempted one more time to stand up, this time falling backwards and knocking right into Mitsuki.

He turned around, and his annoyed face immediately broke into a grin. "Hey, Mitsuki, you were late last night! How was your summer?" Apparently in his greeting he had forgotten the fact his butt was still glued to the chair. Mitsuki stifled a laugh. _Always a one-track mind._

"My summer was fine," she replied before introducing Neen. "This is Naruto. Naruto, this is Neen."

Naruto grinned at Neen. "Hi!" His grin quickly turned into a look of annoyance as he remembered the chair stuck to his behind. "Dang it, Yusei! Why was there glue on my chair?"

"Why was your chair underneath my glue?"

Neen looked at the other boy (_Yusei, I guess_). Her eyes narrowed. "What the hell is your problem?" She didn't know him, but from what she had seen, he seemed like a jerk.

Yusei smirked and put his hands in his pockets. "Oh, new girl, huh? I'm _so_ scared."

Out of the corner of her eye, Neen could see Mitsuki trying to pull the chair off of Naruto. But she didn't care about that. Instead, she felt her fists clench, and she turned towards Yusei with rage in her eyes. "You _should_ be."

Her fist has caught by another hand (Damn temper. It had never been one of her best traits) When Neen looked again, Naruto had somehow gotten in between her and Yusei. Mitsuki stood triumphantly to the side, a chair in her hand, watching.

Naruto stared Neen in the eye with a kind of seriousness not there a few minutes ago. "It's okay. He's not worth it." Strange words, for someone who had been in an angry rampage a few minutes ago. But they were spoken with a kind of determination.

Neen scoffed and turned away, crossing her arms across her black t-shirt. "Yeah, I guess. I'm not that interested, anyways."

This made Yusei roll his eyes, as if to say, _Whatever,_ and Naruto grinned. "You're okay, Neen."

Mitsuki shared the smile, and Neen lowered her eyes to the floor, glad and embarrassed.

"Well, are we going or not?"

"Where are we going?"

Before either Mitsuki or Naruto could answer, (Yusei seemed less interested now that the trouble was over) there was a thud near the stairs. The group turned around to see that Kiyo had, in her excitement, jumped down at least eight of the steps on the stairs, and lay on her back, wincing. "Ouch."

Mitsuki laughed. Naruto smiled. Yusei sighed, and Neen watched cautiously, remembering how crazy the girl had acted a few minutes ago. She took a few steps back, just in case.

Kiyo jumped back up and grinned. "Okay, let's go! I wanna get to breakfast early!"

The brown-haired girl started towards the door, but Mitsuki calmly caught her by the arm, smiling softly. "Kiyo, your pants are on backwards."

Yusei whistled, and Mitsuki and Neen glared at him. _Jackass._ Kiyo looked down and turned red as Naruto laughed his head off. As she rushed back upstairs to turn her jeggings the right way, she screamed, "I KNEW THAT!"

/

**School Bulletin Board**

**Notices:**

**Tomorrow the Sarutobi courtyard will be closed due to construction work being done on the S-buildings and the new mural on the wall. We ask for you to kindly stay out of the workers way, and try to find a different path for your daily commute.**

**Today is the Genin-Jonin buddy day. Jonins please report to the office to receive your bell. You must hide them from the Genins until they manage to find them or you take pity on them. Let's hope that there will not be a repeat of what happened last year. (Uzumaki Naruto, your therapist will be here at 5.)**

**A reminder, students–throwing water bottles, shoes, or any other items at other students will result in possible suspension. That includes knives, smoke pellets, and small explosives.**

**There is going to be a Back-to-School Dance in three weeks. All students are invited to attend. The dress code is formal, and no, that does not mean formal 'sweats'. Putting a corsage on a hoodie does not, in fact, make it appropriate for a dance.**

**Due to some safety infractions, there will be police escorts constantly on the school grounds. This is purely to keep you students safe.**

**Finally, we ask that the ANBU please stop teasing the Genin. They are new, and jumping up from behind them screaming "FIRE STYLE JUTSU!" does not help matters. We would also like the repeat offenders to explain what a jutsu is, as we are not sure if that is slang for an inappropriate word.**

**Personal Notices: Students are allowed to put up personal messages once a week.**

**Kurai: To whoever stole my gym clothes: I'm gonna find you. Just you wait.**

**Yonaro: If anyone finds a folder with the name 'Yonaro' on it, do not open it. If you do, it is not mine, and I have no clue how that crack got in there.**

**Naruto: Sakura-chan, will you go out with me?**

**Sakura: No, Naruto, I have no intentions of going out with you. Ever.**

**On a different note, Sasuke-kun, would you like to go out with me on the 17th?**

**Sasuke: No, Sakura, I have no intentions of going out with you. Ever.**

**Masashi Kishimoto: Does anyone know where my characters went? Anyone?**

**Lunches**:

**The lunches today are**

**Tuna on Rye**

**Macaroni and Cheese**

**Pizza**

The girl stood in front of the board, her pierced lips curving into a smile. Despite the fact she had arrived hours late, she was feeling surprisingly energized- practically excited. Her boxer, Brody, sat quietly besides her, like the trained animal she was.

It was rather early, but she didn't feel like walking over to the dorm just yet to drop off her luggage. If anything, she'd drop it off during lunch or something. That way she wouldn't have to deal with the whole "Hey, what's your name, you're new, right?"

Her silver charm bracelet rattled when she dug around in her bag for a piece of paper and a pencil. Better to keep them on their toes than guessing, right? Because she knew better than almost anyone how quickly things could change.

Because what you know one day can change by the next.

Brody stretched impatiently as she scanned the board for a free tack. Finding two, she took one and used the other to pin it up. (Never know when a tack may come in handy.) She didn't care if what she wrote was a lie. It was fucking hilarious, and that was what mattered.

_Is that all you got for you? _she thought to herself as she walked away, Brody trailing behind her. But she ignored the voice. God, she had been spending too much time with them. She wouldn't be surprised if half of her started arguing with herself.

Black and white. Right and wrong had always been so different to her, but where did she fit in? The plant charm on her bracelet jingled, and she wondered if there would ever be shades of gray.

**Shikyo: I found the crack, Yonaro. Hope you don't mind I took some. ;)**

/

Sometimes she just liked to stand out there, under the cherry blossom trees and dream. Nearly a year ago, when she had just arrived at the school, she would take a textbook out there and study or maybe just daydream. Fantasies like fairy-tales. Good vs evil, where good always won. And sometimes she'd hide, after someone had called her bill-board brow, and think of herself as someone great. _(a doctor, a warrior, Mrs. Sakura Uchiha) _And sometimes, after those days, she had herself convinced that the beautiful trees were named after her.

But Sakura always knew that daydreams ended. She was an intelligent girl. She knew that life moved on.

And there she was again, standing underneath the sakura trees (not named for her, nor for anyone else), because wishing wouldn't get her anywhere.

"Hello, Ugly."

She flinched. Great, just who she wanted to see on the first day back. She gritted her teeth and willed herself not to beat the shit out of Sai as she turned around and forced a smile on her face. "Hi, how are you doing Sai?"

The mentioned boy smiled back, which in her opinion looked more like a grimace. "I'm fine. I spent the summer with my brother."

"Oh." Sakura remembered the brother vaguely. They didn't look like brothers–more like total opposites. But they acted like it. She remembered Sai had been drawing a picture book for his brother on his birthday. "How is he?"

"He's dead."

It wasn't the remark that made her gasp. It was the calmness that had been spoken with it, as if they had been discussing the weather. Sai didn't show any sadness or grief about the passing of his sibling. Indeed, he kept the same old smile on his face.

"Oh..." Sakura searched her mind for anything to say, anything that could be neutral, not to be taken any way at all. "That's…"

"It's sad, isn't it?" But it didn't sound sad when he said it. "He had cancer. We had known it for a while, didn't expect him to live any longer, but…" Sai finally looked away. "It kind of snuck up on us."

"I'm so sorry." She truly was. "I'm sure it must be…hard for you."

Sai shrugged, and raised his hand to wave. "I guess I'll see you around, Ugly." He walked away, carrying his set of paints with him. Sakura had not noticed them before.

She watched him leave. They had not gotten off to a good start last year, from the very first time he had called her that 'nickname'. However, she knew that there was not much difference between him and Sasuke. The one she disliked and the one she admired. The only difference, she realized, was the ability to hide their feelings.

Sasuke never let anyone get close to him. No one ever knew how he really felt. With Sai, that fake smile was a mask made of ink. She knew that slowly, that ink was fading, and she wondered what was really beneath it.

/

_Just a few more paces_, she told herself. _Just a few more strokes._ She concentrated on that point of blue at the wall, focused on it until it was burning in her mind. Her lungs were burning for air, muscles screaming for mercy, but she continued to push on until her hand hit the wall and she pulled herself half-way out of the pool with a sigh.

Despite her weariness, Cam let a small smile cross her face. Her will to win had set her apart from the other swimmers last year, and this year, she had been named captain of the Konoha swim team. No one dared challenge her. Because she knew she wanted to win, and she was going to win.

When she looked up, she saw a pair of green sandals standing right in front of her face. She frowned and looked up. A girl with black hair held up with a green band and luxurious clothing was standing in front of her, smirking. Cam pulled her goggles up onto her forehead. "Can I _help _you?"

The girl put a perfectly manicured hand on her hip and mimicked her voice. "I was wondering if you knew where the Chunin dorm was? Unless there's so much water in your ears your brain's rather drowned."

Cam scowled, and stood up, water dripping from her now-freezing swimsuit. She pulled her swimming cap off of her head, letting her black hair fall down to her shoulders. "I don't know what your problem is, but who are you, and what do you want?"

The girl rolled her eyes and tightened her ponytail, the bell on the end of it tinkling. "My name is Manami, and I believe I asked you a question."

Cam ignored her, and pushed past her towards the locker room. "And I believe I don't have to answer you." _What a bitch._

Manami, however, didn't seem to want to take no for an answer. "Isn't it your job as a more experienced student to help me find the dorm?" she said oh-so-sweetly, a fake smile painted on her face.

Cam scowled again, and whirled around to face her. "Look, don't you go pulling the whole model-student crap on me," she practically growled. This girl was really pissing her off, and it was only morning. "I don't owe you shit, so why don't you just leave me alone?"

Manami crossed her arms over her light green long-sleeved shirt and frowned. "Hmph. Why don't you–"

"The Chunin dorm is to the left of the Hiruzen courtyard, near the sakura trees," came a voice from the right of the pool, a low voice that could barely be heard. Both Manami and Cam looked over.

Manami grinned, and Cam glared. "What the hell are you doing here, Shino?"

The hooded person just shrugged. "Collecting specimens." Cam shuddered mentally. The kid was always looking for more 'specimens' to add to his bug collection. Of course, the new girl had no idea and simply tossed her hair over her shoulder.

"Well, thank you, anyways." Manami smirked, her thanks not sounding as sincere as much as triumphant. Cam watched her walk away, the stupid green sandals slapping against the floor.

She then turned to Shino, who had been watching the scene behind the dark shades that made him look blind. "Leave. Now."

He shrugged, and turned away, but not before adding, "You do know that some spiders are able to survive in water by holding in oxygen by spinning an air bubble under the surface?"

Cam scowled, and stalked off towards the locker room, spitting out with contempt, "Freak."

Inwardly, Shino smirked to himself. Spiders _are_ fascinating creatures, and it was because of Cam's remark that he conveniently forgot to mention the rather large brown one clinging to the back of her swimsuit.

/

"STAND UP, TIME TO SHOUT, COME ON FANS, YELL IT OUT, SAY IT PROUD, GOOOOOOO FOXES!" The girls shouted and waved their pom-poms in the air, and Neeka had to stop herself from being sick. Sure, they were doing a great job of prepping up the crowd, and sure, their dance routines were amazing, but the whole idea of cheerleading made her…ugh.

She was sitting next to Naruto and the girl they called Mitsuki on the sidelines of a huge auditorium. Girls in short skirts and tank tops ran in from both sides of the room, doing flips and screaming chants to rev up the crowd.

She sighed and leaned back, glad she had had the foresight to bring her iPod with her. It had only been one day since she had arrived at the school, and already her mind hurt. Even more new kids like her had arrived in the middle of the night last night, and it was just more names for her to memorize. Granted, they were all sitting neatly in one row next to her, but she still fumbled to match name with face. _Neen, Mitsuki, Manami, Shikyo, Cam, Kokana, uh…_

Mitsuki tapped her fingers against her jeans in rhythm to the cheers, and Neeka smiled. "Don't tell me, you're one of them?"

The other girl smiled back, and pushed her light brown bangs away from her face. "Nah. I'm a dancer. But I know some gymnastics, so I guess you could say I'm…qualified."

Neeka grinned, the screams and shouts of the cheerleader drowning out her voice. "Well, I'm glad you're at least sane."

"WATCH OUT, STEP BACK, FOXES ARE ON THE ATTACK! WE'RE STRONG, POWERFUL, DOMINATING AND BOLD! WARRIORS, REMEMBER ONLY CHAMPIONS WEAR GOLD!"

A few rows down, Kiyo let out a whistle. "Woot, go Ino, work it!" Said Yamanaka lowered her pom-poms to glare at the teasing girl.

The cheer now done, the captain stepped out and started to clap her hands to a beat played on the loudspeakers. "I'm gonna flip out like a ninja, 'cause that's what ninjas do! I'm gonna flip out like a ninja, and you should flip out too!"

The resounding echo hurt Neeka's ears, and she turned the volume of her iPod waaaaaay up, too loud to possibly be safe.

The girl behind her rested her chin in her palm. "This is so boring. We've been watching these girls for half an hour," she said, running her hands through her blonde and teal hair.

"I'M GONNA FLIP OUT LIKE A NINJA…"

Finally, the cheer was over, and Tsunade stepped out with a microphone in her hand, looking very wearied. "Thank you, and let's have a round of applause for these lovely girls." She flinched at the deafening applause. Obviously, she still had the killer hangover. "As you all should know, we are going to be picking the lucky person to be the spirit of the school, the mascot of our sports team. Say his name with me!"

The entire auditorium chorused in perfect unison, "KYUUBI, KYUUBI, KYUUBI!"

Shizune walked in with a costume wrapped over her arm, and handed it to Tsunade, along with a fox head.

Naruto put his hands behind his head and grinned. "Man, I'd hate to be the loser that has to wear that." He laughed, and the kids next to him giggled in unison as well. Neeka turned her head towards him, not seeing the joke.

"What's wrong with it?"

Naruto pointed out, "Last year the tail of the fox ripped off. They sent it to some seamstress in Konoha to fix it. Unfortunately, the seamstress was rather…" He grinned sheepishly. "Clumsy, and that's how it turned out."

When Neeka craned her eyes, she could see that hanging from the fox's behind were thin pieces of fabric, waving pathetically as Tsunade held up the costume for all to see. "Um…isn't a fox supposed to have one tail?"

Naruto laughed. "Yeah, only now there's nine of them. Really nice picture for our team. I'd hate to be the person that has to parade around in that Halloween costume."

Neeka smiled and rolled her eyes. But at the same time, she kept her eyes on the gruesome outfit. She didn't believe she had been there long enough to be chosen for the mascot, but just the same…

Tsunade silenced the whispers with a sweep of her hand. "Okay. The school staff and faculty have decided on a student with the most enthusiasm, energy, and passion. Therefore, we are proud to present this school year's mascot. Drum roll, please!"

The entire auditorium held its breath as Tsunade scanned the crowd for the sentenced (I mean, chosen) person. At the last moment, she locked eyes with that person and smiled, and that person's blood ran cold.

"Let's give a round of applause to Uzumaki Naruto, our new Kyuubi!"

No one was sure which was louder–the laughter or the applause. Kiyo toppled out of her seat and onto the floor, hooting the entire time. Neeka felt her face hurt from trying not grin at Naruto's pale face, as he stood up with shaking hands to accept his punishment (I mean, position)

Tsunade let a grin fill her face as the blond boy walked up, staring at the ground. "I'm sure you are thrilled and will take this honor with utmost importan–UZUMAKI!"

A dust cloud only remained, and the door slammed as Naruto ran out into the hall, causing the already rambunctious crowd to roar with laughter. Tsunade felt her headache worsening even more, and she practically screamed, "WHAT ARE YOU ALL LAUGHING AT? BACK TO YOUR CLASSES!"

Oh, that kid was going to pay. As the crowd continued to file out of the auditorium, show over, smirks still on their faces, Tsunade cracked her knuckles. Naruto would show up sooner or later, and once he did, she'd make him wear the costume for the rest of the week.

Neeka smirked as her iPod continued to scream lyrics into her ears, fitting for such a moment. _He is __**so**__ going to die._

/

Everyone knew that the new English teacher was an ass.

First of all, he demanded that no one could get out of their seats without explicit permission, and he'd drop their grades by a letter if they did so. He also said that there was no talking, eating, sleeping, drinking, blinking, breathing or slouching in the classroom.

Many wondered who he had been teaching before them. The best guess was a box of rocks.

However, they supposed he was better than the last teacher, Mizuki, who had been fired after it was revealed that he had been siphoning funds from various school organizations in order to buy new One Piece merchandise.

But Sasuke had a feeling Ibiki was pretty close to what Mizuki had been. Maybe even worse. After all, the man had to be crazy in order to calmly tell him to sit in front of the world's most insane teenage girl.

Hirazuki Kiyomi.

He wasn't stupid. He knew that the brown-haired girl hated his guts. And everything else about him. And he knew that she would purposely go out of her way just to annoy him.

Like now…

"Psst…." Said girl was currently infringing on the no-talking-no-breathing policy, and Sasuke cursed under his breath. "Uchiha, I need to borrow a pencil. Mine broke."

"Then go sharpen it," he hissed back, keeping an eye on Ibiki. No one was really sure what would happen if they happened upon the wrath of Morino, but they all had a feeling that scar on his face wasn't a fake. "And shut up."

"Seriously? Dumbass, they said we can't move." Kiyo rolled her eyes. "Don'tcha know the rules?"

Sasuke wondered if murdering another student was against the 'rules'. A pencil would work as a good weapon, but there was still the fear of repercussion.

"Okay, I really need to finish this essay, so can I have the pencil?" she continued in a rather loud whisper. If it had been anyone else, it would have been begging. But Kiyo's pride didn't allow begging. Not for him.

Sasuke gritted his teeth and muttered, "Why don't you say please and use my name for once, _Kiyomi_?"

The girl flinched at the use of her birth name, and he could feel her glare on his back. He smirked at this small triumph, but she growled back, "Fine. Can I _please_ borrow a pencil, Sasu-_gay_?"

He clenched his fists. "That's not what I meant." _Note to self: You cannot kill annoying bitches for existing._

"Well, it's as good as you're gonna get. Now hand over the pencil, people are starting to stare."

_I wonder why. _But he handed over the pencil anyways. Ibiki was starting to look over at them, and he didn't need a detention on the first day. If it would make her shut up, then it was worth it.

Sasuke looked at the clock, and then back at his own essay. If there were no more interruptions, he might be able to get it done–

"Psst, Uchiha! This pencil has no eraser! I need another one!"

_It is illegal to stab people for existing….It is illegal to stab people for existing….it is illegal to stab people for existing…._

_/_

The bell finally rang, and the students poured out of their classrooms and out into the hall. There was talk of weekend plans, who was going out with who, and what died in whose hair. Of course, there were smirks and fits of laughter that followed Naruto as he speedily walked through the halls, dragging his nine-tails behind him. (Tsunade was _not_ joking about the costume.)

Oh yeah. He couldn't wait for Friday.

As he entered the last class of the day, he smiled to himself. One more hour, and then freedom.

Besides, this was his favorite class. Iruka was a pretty mellow guy. Well, except when he was yelling. He could yell loud. But Iruka was pretty decent to him, if not more so than the other teachers.

Anyways, Iruka was standing in the front of the classroom, flanked by the other teachers of the school. Naruto recognized Kakashi, Asuma, Kurenai, Anko…yeah, all those teachers could yell pretty loud too.

"Ahem." Iruka cleared his throat, and all talking in the room ceased. "Thank you." He frowned at a kid in the front row. "Yosuke, take those headphones out or I will sell them on the Internet." The said person put his MP3 away and sat down.

"Anyways, this year the school will be engaging in a school-wide project," the scarred teacher explained, casting his eye over all of the students. "You will be assigned, in groups of three, to one teacher each group. From there, the teacher will give you instructions on what you will be doing for the rest of the year."

A gentle murmur ran through the crowd. The teacher they called Anko pulled a megaphone out from behind her and screamed into it, "SHUT UP, NIMRODS, WE'RE NOT DONE!"

Everyone flinched. Naruto thought to himself, cowering behind the fox mask, that he'd hate to be assigned to that teacher. But Iruka just smiled and continued.

"I will now assign each of you into different squads. I don't want any mumbling, grumbling, complaining, or groaning to occur. If you don't like your team, than you're just SOL."

Iruka began pointing at different people, calling out the names and assigning them to specific teachers. Most people were happy with their assignments. Others, not so much.

"Team 7, lead by Hatake Kakashi will be comprised of Haruno Sakura, Uzumaki Naruto…"

Naruto let out a grin at the call of his name and Sakura's. However, the pink-haired girl grimaced, bowing her head in shame at being put on the same squad as the fox-loser. _He was right. I'm shit out of luck._

"And finally, Uchiha Sasuke."

The no-mumbling-grumbling-complaining rules was from then on infringed, as the room was filled with Sakura's delighted triumphant scream, the cries of half of the other girls in the room, and Naruto's "Noooooooooo!" at the prospect of being on the same team as Sasuke. The Uchiha, however, didn't make any comment or show any sign of preference. He took his sentence with indifference and shrugged off any complaints.

"Team 8," Iruka continued, ignoring any objections to the placement of people. "Led by Yuhi Kurenai, is Hyuuga Hinata, Inuzuka Kiba, and Aburame Shino."

_Quiet. _Hinata and Shino were quiet, Neen thought as she watched the three go sit at their assigned table. But Kiba was most definitely not, as she remembered from math class when he told the teacher exactly where she could put her quadratic equations. She had laughed so hard she'd nearly choked. Yeah, that kid was interesting. She'd have to watch to see how it went.

Iruka proceeded to the next group. "Team 9, led by Mitarashi Anko, will be comprised of Hirazuki Kiyomi, Hayashi Manami, and Hoseki Kokana."

Kiyo groaned at the prospect of being put on a team with two people she didn't even know. Manami, the girl Cam had talked to earlier in the morning, looked at her new 'teammates' with distaste. Obviously, they weren't well-dressed enough for her. Finally, the girl with the blonde and teal hair who had been complaining about the cheerleaders earlier sat down next to them, a look of unconcern on her face.

"Team 10, led by Sarutobi Asuma, is made up with Yamanaka Ino, Nara Shikamaru, and Akimichi Chouji."

_Lazy, vulgar, and a potty-mouth. _Were those their thoughts about each other? Ino wrinkled her nose as she sat down and scooted her chair away from Shikamaru and Chouji as far as she could. _Lucky Sakura._

Likewise, Shikamaru considered his advantages and disadvantages, and ultimately decided that they came out the loser. What a 'team'. They'd be dead by nightfall.

"Team 11, led by Morino Ibiki. Mizaki Yusei, Momochi Shikyo, and Hamako Nina."

Yusei groaned. Just his luck, to be put on a team of girls, although he supposed he wasn't the worst off. Still, there was something about the spiky white-haired girl that unnerved him, maybe because of her rather gothic attire. And then there was that other girl, the one who had been ready to start a fight earlier, had Uzumaki not stopped her. And Morino, probably the strictest teacher ever to walk the halls? Yeah, this was gonna be one fucked up year.

"Team 12, led by Might Gai, includes Hyuuga Neji, Rock Lee, and Tenten."

Neji had never seen a guy cry tears of joy. Girls, yes, quite a lot, but never as much as Lee did when he ran over to the assigned seats. He silently shuddered at the prospect of having to work with that freak for the rest of the year. And Tenten was freaky too, in her own way. He knew that if the 'project' had anything to do with airline security, they would all fail. Miserably. The bun-haired girl just shrugged and sat next to him, quiet…for the moment.

"And finally, Team 13, led by Shiranui Genma, is comprised of Uematsu Mitsuki, Neeka, and Cam."

_Oh shit. _That was all that ran through Neeka's mind as she approached her 'teammates', recognizing only one of them.

_Hmm, we've got a hick, a poor girl, and a push-over ballerina? _Cam laughed to herself. Whatever this 'project' was, she knew that any 'teamwork' would be nonexistent. They'd probably all fail.

And the funny thing was, she didn't care.

Iruka looked at the clock, and then back at the now-noisy students. So much for the no talking rule. He looked over at Anko, who nodded.

"HEY! SHUT YOUR MOUTHS, WE'RE NOT DONE!" she screamed through her megaphone, which was conveniently right next to Kiyo's ear. The girl let out an "OI!" and fell out of her chair. Everyone ignored her as Iruka continued.

"Due to time, I don't think that we'll be able to get to the actual project today." The bell was going to ring in about five minutes, so Iruka sped up his speech. "We should be able to get the details to you by tomorrow. Until then, you may leave."

No one moved. Anko sighed, and raised the megaphone one last time, sending the students next to her covering their ears and wincing. "GET OUTTA HERE!"

Just then, the bell rang, sending the students scattering out into the hall. The teachers sighed, glad that it was all over, and Genma suggested, "Coffee?"

They all nodded, and as they headed out the door, Kakashi muttered, "I think Anko should have gotten that megaphone a long time ago."

/

"Mitsuki-chan!"

Mitsuki looked back at her roommates. Hinata was sitting on her bed, reading a paperback novel, while Kiyo was lying on her back staring at the ceiling. She stopped doing her homework. "What?"

"What time is it?" Kiyo asked. Mitsuki rolled her eyes. She knew the other girl was just too lazy to get up. "Almost six. Why?"

"SHIT!" Kiyo jumped up with a cry. "We're gonna be laaaaate!"

Hinata closed her book, and turned her pearl-like eyes towards the clock as well. "She's right. Dinner starts as six-thirty, and I don't think we'll be able to get across campus in time."

Mitsuki shrugged. "I'm not all that hungry. You guys can go without me." She turned back to her homework and deciphering how to solve ax squared into x=-b+- the square root of b squared- 4ac divided by 2a.

Kiyo, however, wouldn't take 'no' for an answer. "Nuh-uh, you are too going. You missed out on yesterday's welcome-back-dinner, but you're not going to miss today. Hina, help me drag her outside." The Hyuuga did not respond, and Mitsuki's smile grew.

"Okay, fine, I'll go, just let me change into a sweatshirt or something. It's freezing outside." _Nothing like September nights in Konoha, _she thought. Of course, everything was bigger and colder in Konoha. A bigger city, colder and unfriendly people. She didn't know why her mom thought the place was so great. If it hadn't been for her friends, she probably wouldn't have come there the second year.

Mitsuki grabbed her silver flannel sweatshirt, and was heading out the door when the phone rang. She looked at Hinata and Kiyo, and waved at them. _I'll get it. I'll catch up with you guys later. _They nodded, and she answered it. "Hello?"

"Mitsuki, I'm so glad to hear your voice." It was her, her voice dripping with a sticky-sweetness that made Mitsuki want to throw up. "How are things at your school? Good?"

She gritted her teeth and forced a smile into her voice. "Everything's fine, mother."

It was that tone that Uematsu Himeko loved to hear. Lies. Fake. Materialistic. "I'm so glad you settled in nicely. Have you made any new friends?"

By friends, she meant the kind of people she'd approve of. People with limos and jet planes, people like them that her mother thought would prove they weren't gold-diggers or something. But Mitsuki never wanted anything like that.

"_Not really."_

She twisted the phone cord around her finger, listening to her mom's response. Listening nervously, because she knew what was coming.

"Oh my, that's rather disappointing. Oh well." Mother did not sound very disappointed at all, and promptly skipped toward her next question. "Did you receive those gorgeous pair of diamond earrings your father and I sent you? Honestly, once people see you wearing them, they will be green with envy."

Funny, isn't that what she had said before?

(_"I don't want to go there, I already have a finishing school picked out–"_

"_Don't be silly. If you go there, everyone will simply be green with envy."_

She'd never liked the color green. They never really listened to her anyways)

"Yeah, I got them," Mitsuki replied quietly. She didn't mention that she had them buried in her desk, along with all of the other useless, material gifts her mother had given to her throughout the years. Never really gave her what she really wanted.

There was a pause on the other side. Her mother's voice, now irritated, stated, "Oh dear, it looks like Kimi wants to talk to you." To the other person, she snapped, "Make it brief," and Mitsuki waited.

A younger, higher voice appeared on the other side of the conversation, bright and happy, making Mitsuki smile. "Hey, nee-chan? Are you there?"

She smiled. "Yeah, I'm here. How was your day today?"

"It was fine." She detected sadness in her little sister's voice. Maybe loneliness. "I miss you. Can I come visit you sometime?"

She swallowed, missing her sister with every word. "Yeah, of course. Maybe this weekend?"

All of a sudden, her mom's voice appeared at the other end. "Oh, so sorry Mitsuki, we can't. I'm taking Kimi shopping. I thought she should have a more…appropriate wardrobe for herself." Her mother's voice dropped down to a whisper, and she spoke in harsh, almost angry tones. "I have no idea what's gotten into that child. Just the other day, she came home with mud all over her brand-new jeans. She said she was playing softball and fell. Can you imagine?"

Yes. Actually, she could. She remembered those days over the summer, helping patch up Kimi's scraped knees when she fell during sports, it being their secret time when Mom had no idea. She had no problem with that.

"She's just a kid, mom," Mitsuki said quietly.

"Yes, but what am I supposed to tell my friends when they come over and find her covered in dirt? My word…" She sighed on the other end, and smiled. "Well, I just wanted to see how you were doing. Take care. Love you."

Kimi's voice appeared one last time on the other side. "I love you, nee-chan! Bye!"

Mitsuki smiled, and whispered a faint "Good-bye," hearing it echo through the phone. They hung up on the other side, but she stood there for just a few seconds longer, clenching the phone cord in her fist and listening to the empty dial tone.


End file.
